Friday, October 19, 2012

RIP - Fiorenzo Magni

Fiorenzo Magni, known as The Lion of Flanders (having won the Ronde three times in a row) passed away recently, the last of the Tre Uomini d'Oro (Three Men of Gold). He joins the others, Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali in "cycling heaven". Probably his most famous exploit was his dogged determination to continue racing in the 1956 Giro d'Italia despite a broken collarbone. His mechanic rigged up a piece of a tubular tire attached to the handlebars that Magni could bite between his teeth to continue racing! Magni never received the same respect as his compatriots, despite his racing record of three Giro wins to go with his three triumphs at Flanders and three tricolore jerseys as Italian champion, because of his support for Benito Mussolini. He was also the first cyclist to bring in a non-cycling sponsor for a team, NIVEA in the mid-50's. His lasting legacy may be the wonderful museum at Madonna del Ghisallo (photo) he spearheaded, tirelessly raising the funding and sourcing memorabilia from private collections for the public to enjoy. We're proud to have named one of our rental bicycles after Magni as one of the great Italian champions. Ciao Fiorenzo! Nice video tribute HERE

Search This Blog

Piero Coppi

CycleItalia

Larry and Heather met while leading bike tours in Italy, married soon after, and have since enjoyed almost 30 years of cycling guide experience. We launched CycleItalia in 1998 (after a decade working with another tour operation) to share our unique passion for Italy with you. CycleItalia has its roots in the Italian cycling getaways we planned as a couple during our time off, exploring the little-traveled backroads of untouristed regions, discovering small family-run inns and enjoying authentic country cuisine. We coined the phrase "pedala forte, mangia bene!' (ride hard, eat well!) to describe our philosophy and while imitators come and we've now created Piedmont Cycling Resort to offer complete flexibility for your Italian cycling vacation. Join us!